# 2022 Ball State Cardinals football team

The 2022 Ball State Cardinals football team represented Ball State University during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by seventh-year head coach Mike Neu and played their home games at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Indiana. They competed as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:00 p.m. | at Tennessee* | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | SECN | L 10–59 | 92,236 |
| September 10 | 2:00 p.m. | Western Michigan | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | L 30–37 | 12,972 |
| September 17 | 2:00 p.m. | Murray State* | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | W 31–0 | 14,413 |
| September 24 | 6:00 p.m. | at Georgia Southern* | Paulson StadiumStatesboro, GA | ESPN+ | L 23–34 | 18,434 |
| October 1 | 2:00 p.m. | Northern Illinois | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy) | ESPN+ | W 44–38 $^{2OT}$ | 10,012 |
| October 8 | 3:30 p.m. | at Central Michigan | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPN+ | W 17–16 | 22,305 |
| October 15 | 2:00 p.m. | UConn* | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN3 | W 25–21 | 10,006 |
| October 22 | 2:00 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN+ | L 16–20 | 15,698 |
| November 1 | 7:00 p.m. | at Kent State | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPNU | W 27–20 | 6,455 |
| November 8 | 8:00 p.m. | at Toledo | Glass BowlToledo, OH | ESPN | L 21–28 | 14,462 |
| November 15 | 7:00 p.m. | Ohio | Scheumann StadiumMuncie, IN | ESPN2 | L 18–32 | 6,722 |
| November 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Miami (OH) | Yager StadiumOxford, OH (Red Bird Rivalry) | ESPN+ | L 17–18 | 14,021 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| • Volunteers | 17 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 59 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TENN –35.5 | 66.5 |
| Statistics | BALL | TENN |
| First downs | 17 | 32 |
| Total yards | 343 | 569 |
| Rushing yards | 74 | 218 |
| Passing yards | 269 | 351 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 30:05 | 29:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Ball State | Passing | John Paddock | 27/43, 269 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Ball State | Rushing | Carson Steele | 11 carries, 27 yards |
| Ball State | Receiving | Jayshon Jackson | 5 receptions, 65 yards |
| Tennessee | Passing | Hendon Hooker | 18/25, 221 yards, 2 TD |
| Tennessee | Rushing | Jaylen Wright | 13 carries, 88 yards, 1 TD |
| Tennessee | Receiving | Cedric Tillman | 6 receptions, 68 yards |

### Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Broncos | 7 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 37 |
| Cardinals | 10 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| WMU –6.5 | 51.5 |
| Statistics | Western Michigan | Ball State |
| First downs | 27 | 21 |
| Total yards | 437 | 447 |
| Rushing yards | 207 | 146 |
| Passing yards | 230 | 301 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 34:16 | 25:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Western Michigan | Passing | Jack Salopek | 25/43, 230 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Western Michigan | Rushing | Sean Tyler | 15 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD |
| Western Michigan | Receiving | Corey Crooms | 10 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD |
| Ball State | Passing | John Paddock | 24/41, 301 yards, 2 TD |
| Ball State | Rushing | Carson Steele | 26 carries, 137 yards, 1 TD |
| Ball State | Receiving | Amir Abdur-Rahman | 7 receptions, 89 yards, 1 TD |

### Murray State (FCS)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Racers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| BALL –21.0 | 53 |
| Statistics | Murray State | Ball State |
| First downs | 9 | 26 |
| Total yards | 155 | 476 |
| Rushing yards | 87 | 249 |
| Passing yards | 68 | 227 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 23:32 | 36:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Murray State | Passing | Isaac McNamee | 7/22, 57 yards, 2 INT |
| Murray State | Rushing | Jawaun Northington | 17 carries, 71 yards |
| Murray State | Receiving | DeQuan Dallas | 2 receptions, 27 yards |
| Ball State | Passing | John Paddock | 27/44, 227 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| Ball State | Rushing | Carson Steele | 25 carries, 141 yards, 1 TD |
| Ball State | Receiving | Jayshon Jackson | 6 receptions, 64 yards, 1 TD |

### At Georgia Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 3 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
| Eagles | 3 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 34 |

### Northern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Huskies | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 44 |

### At Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| Chippewas | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 |

### UConn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 25 |
at Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, Indiana
* Date: October 15
* Game time: 2:02 p.m.
* Game weather: Temperature: 53 °F (12 °C) • Weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 10,006
* Referee: Ron Hudson
* TV announcers (ESPN3): Jim Barbar (play-by-play) & Adam Breneman (color analyst)
Game information :
First quarter
CONN – Aaron Turner 19 yd pass from Zion Turner (Noe Ruelas kick), 9:58. Huskies 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 02:43
BSU – Carson Steele 1 yd run (Ben VonGunten kick), 0:15. Tied 7–7. Drive: 12 plays, 73 yards, TOP 05:18
Second quarter
CONN – Justin Joly 39 yd pass from Zion Turner (Noe Ruelas kick), 12:25. Huskies 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 02:41
BSU – Ben VonGunten 38-yard field goal, 9:21. Huskies 14–10. Drive: 9 plays, 54 yards, TOP 03:04
CONN – Robert Burns 1 yd run (Noe Ruelas kick), 0:58. Huskies 21–10. Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, TOP 01:53
Third quarter
BSU – Ben VonGunten 38-yard field goal, 10:34. Huskies 21–13. Drive: 10 plays, 29 yards, TOP 03:14
Fourth quarter
BSU – Carson Steele 2 yd run (2 pt conv no good), 7:24. Huskies 21–19. Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards, TOP 00:41
BSU – Carson Steele 17 yd run (2 pt conv no good), 2:40. Cardinals 25–21. Drive: 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 02:35
Top passers
CONN – Zion Turner – 18/22, 129 yards, 2 TDs
BSU – John Paddock – 19/39, 147 yards
Top rushers
CONN – Victor Rosa – 17 rushes, 72 yards
BSU – Carson Steele – 32 rushes, 179 yards, 3 TDs
Top receivers
CONN – Aaron Turner – 8 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD
BSU – Jayshon Jackson – 8 receptions, 71 yards
Top defense
CONN – Jackson Mitchell – 13 tackles
BSU – Jordan Riley – 14 tackles :
| Statistics | UConn | BSU |
| First downs | 16 | 22 |
| Total yards | 323 | 356 |
| Rushing yards | 194 | 209 |
| Passing yards | 129 | 147 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 30:23 | 29:37 |

### Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 16 |

### At Kent State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| Golden Flashes | 13 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 20 |

### At Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Rockets | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Ohio

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio | 0 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 32 |
| Ball State | 3 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 18 |
at Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN
* Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2022
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: snow, Temperature:32 °F (0 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,722
* Referee: Rod Hudson
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Chris Cotter, Dustin Fox, Taylor Davis
* Pregame line: OHIO -3.5 •
| Statistics | OHIO | BSU |
| First downs | 20 | 21 |
| Total yards | 427 | 367 |
| Rushes/yards | 46/224 | 19/94 |
| Passing yards | 203 | 273 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–24–0 | 29–48–1 |
| Time of possession | 36:38 | 23:22 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Ohio | Passing | Kurtis Rourke | 12/16, 169 yards |
| Ohio | Rushing | Sieh Bangura | 23 rushes, 148 yards, 2 TD |
| Ohio | Receiving | Jacoby Jones | 5 receptions, 87 yards |
| Ball State | Passing | John Paddock | 29/48, 273 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Ball State | Rushing | Carson Steele | 23 rushes, 148 yards, 2 TD |
| Ball State | Receiving | Brady Hunt | 9 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD |

### Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| RedHawks | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 18 |